NEC Makes First Consumer Fuel Cell Phone

NEC has long harboured a reputation as a company with a fairly sober, business focus that didn't hold high opinion of the more frivolous things in life, until now...
Stunning us all, NEC has thrown off its tailored suits and donned a shiny tracksuit to announce the 'Flask', a mobile phone which is powered by a liquid fuel cell and features a transparent touchscreen display.

In practice this means a user can watch the level of liquid in their handset to judge the battery charge in the Flask and it can be topped up instantly and anywhere via another fuel cell. Whether this is really more convenient than plugging your current handset into a car adaptor or carrying a portable charger is open to question.

That said, the Flask's spirit (apologies, but it had to be said) isn't all about fighting it out with the mundane, it is about making a statement and with an actual retail launch planned for later this year that's exactly what NEC has done.

Of course, at this stage, little is known about the Flask's exact feature set but I doubt it'll be doing much more than calls, SMS and some basic mobile gaming - still, it's wow factor will one-up even the iPhone. So if you're desperate to have a potentially explosive handset which looks a little like the offspring from a drunken encounter between a hip flask and a cheap lighter then look no further...